Travel South Cross Land
by irishjedi
Summary: With money, comes opportunity for everyone . Reviews equal YAY!
1. The Exodus is Here

Summery- With money, comes opportunity (for everyone). Reviews equal YAY!!!

Warnings- none for the moment (I couldn't find a beta so forgive my crappy punctuation)

Disclaimer- This is David Shore's sandbox, I'm playing in it.

**Travel South Cross L****and**

"You are being very generous Ms. Slone" Doctor Lisa Cuddy, Dean of Medicine at the Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, said quietly. She meant it but couldn't exactly relax considering what had happened last time she had accepted so much money from a willing donor. "Four hun…hundred mill-ion dollars" her voice tripping over such an unfamiliar numeral to speak aloud "is a lot of money."

The girl did not look like an heiress. Her hair was not blonde, her nails were not done and her clothes were not Gucci. Her hair was brown and pulled back in a messy ponytail, her nails looked a little bitten and she was wearing old jeans and Pink Floyd t-shirt.

She smiled a bit bemused and re-crossed her legs (she was sitting Indian style in one of the chairs across from Cuddy's desk) "Please call me Cari and I had nothing better to do with it, I'm sure you'll put it to good use." Cuddy flinched "I seem to sense a "but" coming. Is there something bothering you Dr. Cuddy?" her voice was unnervingly calm, as though she would have cared less if Elvis and Jimmy Hoffa fell out of the coat closet making out.

"Well you see Ms. Slo-Cari, we have had a offer like this in the past and-"

"Dr. Cuddy" the girl interrupted "I am not Edward Vogler. I'm asking you for the same thing but our reasons are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Just give me an office, e-mail when something worth mentioning happens and you'll probably forget I'm here, soon enough." Carolina Ann Slone glanced at her plastic digital watch "I'm sorry Dr. Cuddy but I have to be somewhere in a few minutes, I'll come back tomorrow."

Cuddy stood up quickly and extended a hand for the girl to shake but by the time she had done so Cari was out the door "see 'ya later!" she offered back as she exited Cuddy's office and put her headphones on.

Cuddy stood feeling a little confused and not completely sure that what had just happened was real. The grey and red tennis ball that bounced down the hall in front of her, stopping at her feet, did nothing to help re-connect her with reality.

She picked it up looking in its direction of origin to find Doctor Gregory House walking towards her.

"Sorry, should I have yelled four first?"

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"No, House! The answer is NO! You may not hire a male hooker for an eighty year old woman!" She felt back in sync with the universe now. House being House was very grounding for her.

"What?! You don't want poor Harriet to make it to her granddaughter's school play? I hear she's gonna play Wendy. I think they even got Michal Jackson to play Peter Pan." Actually he had no idea if Harriet's granddaughter was going to play Wendy or not or if she even had a granddaughter for that matter.

"Oh, you're going to do it anyway no matter what I say." She shook her head in disgust and sat down.

"What's wrong Boss? Is it your _time _of the month?" he asked crudely.

Cuddy sighed "Just go, I have a lot to deal with right now." House suspected there were emotiony things headed his way and chose to make a quick exit. "House" he stopped and turned around "I can't always put you first. There are more important things this hospital needs."

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House opened Wilson's door without knocking to find his friend on the phone. Wilson looked up and closed his eyes for a moment as if preparing to be executed or something.

"Yeah, that's alright I would love to come. What's his favorite color? Okay, see you then. Bye." He finished and hung up the phone looking expectantly at House.

"Planning your next wedding or do they call those commitment ceremonies now?" House questioned.

"It's a birthday party for one of my patients. He's turning six. Wanna come, there'll be free cake." Wilson asked quickly taking his mini sand garden out of House's reach.

"I've never understood the human fascination with celebrating the loss of yet another year of life." House took the medicine balls from Wilson's desk and started playing with them.

"Did you want something or are you just hiding from Cuddy? You didn't really hire a male hooker did you?" as though he really wanted to know.

"Wilson, what's more important than me?" he finally asked cocking his head to the side a little.

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	2. Put Out the Fire

Warnings-still none (R&R please and thank you).

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"That could be a very long list. Are we talking in the grand scheme of things or just in this room?" Wilson questioned him.

"What would Cuddy have to put before me? She lied under oath for me. What could this hospital possibly stand to lose that she would consider more beneficial than me?" House absentmindedly balanced a medicine ball on the rubber end of his cane.

"Arrogant much?" Wilson responded getting up from his desk and snatching House's playthings.

House observed Wilson for a moment. "You know. If she was gonna to tell anyone it would be you. So what is it? Has the hospital acquired a new world renowned but easily offended pediatrician?" like he hadn't preserved the lives of so many little brats himself.

Wilson opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"Close your mouth please James, we are not a codfish." House said in British accent (which he did freakishly well).

Wilson sighed. "The hospital has come into some money, that Cuddy doesn't want you to scare off. Because we need it, this isn't like any hospital. We're a teaching hospital. We need things." He finished purposefully.

House raised his eyebrows, unimpressed. "You're telling me that because I don't know?" House walked out.

The _oncologist_ sat back down at his desk wondering if that actually just happened or not.

But before he could come to a decision House stuck his head back in the door "Oh and could you please keep Cuddy out of the ICU between seven and ten. Harriet will be having a special visitor." and then he pulled his head back out.

Wilson pinched his arm hopefully. "Damn" he said to himself.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Four weeks passed. Spring predictably gave way to summer. Nothing happened.

As Cari had guaranteed, Cuddy forgot she was there and except for the occasional lunch invitation (which was always politely turned down) and a few e-mails, Cuddy had virtually no contact with the new Chairman (Chair Person?) of the board of Directors.

In fact, no one did. The office she wanted was about as far from all other human life in the hospital as one could get and still be in the building. Those few who had ventured up there had later reported hearing music blaring (everything from the Culture Club to Flogging Molly) and smelling Chinese food.

When it came to making decisions, Cari would simply tell Cuddy to do whatever she thought was best for Princeton Plainsboro and she would support her. Thus far, she had done just that.

Cuddy was very worried, not so much because of Cari's strange behavior but House was worrying her.

He hadn't done anything. Nothing stupid, nothing illegal, nothing provoking or attention worthy (well, no more than usual). Nothing.

And sense Cuddy knew _that House knew that could __**only mean that he was planning something so diaBOLICAL THAT SURLEY IT WOULD DESTROY NOT ONLY THE HOSPITAL **__**BUT THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!!! **_(bum bum)

Cuddy shook her head for a second, looked around her office then decided she needed some coffee.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cari sat at her desk, in her office, off in the nether regions of the Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. She scrolled down the computer screen in front of her, looking at some old records (not that old, less than six years).

Music played loudly in the background and she screwed another piece of her sweet and sour pork.

_Sickness will surely take the mind  
where minds can't usually go.  
Come on the amazing journey,  
And learn all you should know.  
A vague haze of delirium creeps up on him.  
Soaring and flying images spin.  
He is your leader, he is your guide.  
On the amazing journey,  
Together you'll ride…_

"She stopped scrolling the page and looked for a few seconds

"that's interesting" she said to herself.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I'm suffering from writer's constipation at the moment but I promise that later chapters will be longer.


End file.
